Dinner Date
by Ultrawoman
Summary: Sequel to 'Coffee Break'. Eliot talks with Parker about the new friendships in her life, and realises that one of them is with him. Then they both start to wonder, could they be more than just friends? A 3-part EliotParker story.
1. Part 1 of 3

**A/N: So the reaction to my first ever Leverage fic was too good for me not to write some more. Besides which, this has easily become my new favourite TV show and E/P is quite definitely my ship of choice. So, without further ado, Part 1 of the 3-part sequel to 'Coffee Break'...**

_**Disclaimer: Characters from Leverage belong to John Rogers, Chris Downey, and other important people that aren't me.**_

Part 1 of 3

Another job well done, so Nate had said. Eliot was just glad it was over so he could go home and sleep after what had been a long seventy two hours with little or no rest. As they all picked up their things and headed out of the offices, he and Parker just happened to be the last two.

"Hey, I meant to ask you" he said suddenly catching the blonde's attention as she headed from the briefing room to her own office, "How'd your coffee thing go with your new friend?"

"Good, I think" she smiled brightly like a proud child, that expression wavering within a moment as she thought on it too much, "I mean, she talked, I talked, we drank coffee" she elaborated, her fingers lacing and unlacing as she went on, "I tried not to mention theft or violence..." she shook her head, sending her ponytail flying around her head, "It's hard work" she sighed.

"Well, that's the way it is with friendships sometimes, darlin'" Eliot told her sagely as he swung his bag onto his shoulder and made to leave at last.

"But you were easy" said Parker, making him turn back from the door immediately, his eyes a little wider than before, "I mean, to have coffee with. To talk to" she explained, though she wasn't entirely sure why what she'd said in the first place was wrong, "I guess you and me just make better friends than the 'Alice me' and Peggy" she shrugged, backing up the few steps into her office at last.

Eliot had to think about that. He didn't have a whole lot of friends, mostly just acquaintances that owed him favours, old buddies with reps as questionable as his own. He certainly didn't have women for friends, not until Leverage when Sophie and Parker had entered the picture. He didn't spend much time with the grifter outside of jobs and she was so hung up on Nate, but he and Parker had got to talking lately. When they went for coffee a few days ago, they'd had a real conversation for the first time ever. Eliot had found they actually had stuff in common, that sometimes she made jokes that were actually funny and didn't involve zip-lines or razor-blades. He also found her straightforward way of expressing herself a little less strange these days, and kind of refreshing actually.

"Eliot" her voice cut through his deep thought in an instant and he snapped back to reality to find Parker in front of him again and staring strangely, "Your eyes glazed over" she explained, "Were you thinking about food or sex?" she checked, sure that was the two main topics that caused such a blank look on a man's face.

She was unsure why Eliot smiled the way he did before he answered.

"Neither" he assured her, "I was just thinking' about what you said" he told her, adjusting the bag on his shoulder, "I guess we are friends now, and that's... that's cool"

"Yeah, I think so" Parker agreed with a rare smile, "It's weird. I never thought I needed people" she considered, "No friends, no family, no boyfriend... I guess I always thought I couldn't miss what I never had, y'know?" she shrugged, picking up her own bag and walking past him to go.

"Wait a second" this time his words stopping her in her tracks right before she had a chance to reach a hand to the doorknob, "You _never_ had a boyfriend?" he checked, one hand to his forehead like he was getting a headache.

He just couldn't understand this. Parker had an obviously pretty face and hot body, and though she was a little odd in her speech and behaviour at times, he couldn't understand how it was possible for her to never, ever have had a boyfriend.

"Its not like I'm some scared little virgin" she said with a snort of incredulous laughter and an eye-roll to match, "I just never had, y'know like a steady boyfriend... or a real date actually" she considered, apparently not particularly bothered by the fact but just stating it because it was true.

"Want to?" the words were out of Eliot's mouth before he'd fully thought it through and yet he found he had no wish to take them back, though some clarification might be good, he realised, given the look on her face, "A date, I mean" he told her, "You wanna go on a real date?"

"With who?" she asked, apparently geniuinly baffled still, or so the frown her face suggested.

"With me, Parker" he smiled, trying not to find too much amusement in her innocent confusion, "Would you like to go to dinner with me, on a date?" he tried again, in the clearest way he could find.

A verbal answer never came but it was clear she was pleased, from the frantic nodding of her head and the grin that spread across her lips. Looked like they were going on a date.

_End of Part 1_

**A/N2: Hope this makes my fellow E/P fans happy. Parts 2 and 3 are on the way soon! :)**


	2. Part 2 of 3

**A/N: Many thanx to all the fab people who left reviews on Part 1 of this fic. I know the short chapters are a pain but the scenes just lend themselves to shortness! Part 3 should be up in the next couple of days - it would be faster if I wasn't writing so many fics for so many fandoms all at once...**

_**(For discaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Part 2 of 3

Sophie had been fixing him with that dumb grin all day long, the kind she used on cons, only less convincing. Eliot knew Parker must've told her about their date tonight. At first, he didn't understand why she would, until they met up that evening of course. Parker didn't wear dresses as a rule. Eliot figured she stuck to pants and non-colours because it worked for the job she did, but tonight she couldn't be further from her usual inconspicuous thief wardrobe.

She was a vision in pink, not a colour he would've figured on suiting her, but it did. Sophie had helped pick the outfit, he knew it before she ever told him. Still, Eliot was relieved to hear that the grifter had promised not to tell Nate or Hardison about tonight. The only slightly worrying thing was that Parker didn't seem to get why it would matter.

"I feel weird" she said now as she and Eliot sat across a table for two in a restaurant that could easily be described as fancy.

"Well, you don't look weird" he assured her, "You look... beautiful" he settled on eventually, realising there was no other word to describe her right now, no matter how cliché it sounded.

Eliot wasn't so sure he'd ever seen Parker blush until that moment. She could change clothes in an elevator in front of guys she barely knew without batting an eye and leapt off tall buildings without a care, but tell the girl she looked good in a dress and she turned crimson. Eliot hadn't been so very wrong when he said there was something wrong with Parker but whatever it was, he liked her all the better for it somehow.

"Er, waiter!" she called the guy back just seconds after he handed her a menu, "Can I get one of these in English?" she held it out to him, until the poor confused garcon turned to Eliot and was politely dismissed.

"It's a French restaurant, Parker" he reminded her, "So, the menu is written in French"

"Oh" she nodded once, "Fine" she said, dumping her menu unceremoniously on the table with a thud, "Then you order, but I'm not eating anything that used to hop or carry its little house on its back" she declared firmly, her arms folded across her chest.

Though Eliot was still glad to be here, he had a feeling it was going to be a very long night.

* * *

Eliot Spencer was seriously wondering about his mental health as he waited at the table in a fancy restaurant for his date to get back from the restroom. There had to be something pretty badly wrong with him, maybe it was one too many punches to the head, he considered, but something wasn't right. First off, he'd offered to take a woman out to dinner, with no real thought about getting anywhere with her after the event - that just wasn't like him at all. Second, he'd voluntarily put on a tux to come here, something he never enjoyed. The most worrying part though was not all the out of character things he'd done tonight, but more so the reason why he'd done each one. That reason had just one name: Parker.

They'd come a long way from the first day when he had dubbed her crazy in his mind and thoroughly believed she really was unstable in some way. Sure, she was a genius at her job, if one could call theft an actual vocation in life, but he couldn't argue with the fact she was the best thief he'd ever met in his life. Now though she was a whole lot more than that. Eliot had started to notice there was a person underneath the oddball things she said and weird looks she shot him. She could be sweet, and funny, and as tonight had proven, damn hot when she put on the right dress.

"Hey" he smiled, getting up from his seat like a gentleman should when a lady returns to the table, "Parker? What's wrong?" he checked as they both sat down again, the look on her face making him worry more than he would've liked.

"I didn't mean to do it" she told him, gaze downcast as she played with the edge of the tablecloth.

"Oh, God" said Eliot more to himself than anyone else as his eyes went briefly heavenward, "What did you do?" he hissed across the table at her, mindful of anyone else over-hearing.

Somewhere behind Parker there was a commotion, an older guy yelling at the maitre'd, waving his arms around like a psychotic windmill. Clearly he was pissed off about something, and Eliot didn't doubt for a second that it had something to do with his date.

"He bumped into me" she said quietly, "And I just kind of..." she let the sentence fade to nothing as one of her hands popped up above the edge of the table to show Eliot the man's wallet she was holding, "It was instinct!" she defended herself, as the hitter put a hand to his forehead and sighed, wondering how the hell they were supposed to get out of this now.

_End of Part 2_


	3. Part 3 of 3

**A/N: To everyone who has left a review (or two) on this story so far - thank you so much. It means a lot to me, most especially because I'm entirely new to this fandom and ship. Here is the ending, and I hope I did good with it!**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Part 3 of 3

"What's so funny?" asked Parker, barely breathless despite the fact she and Eliot had just literally gone running for their freedom from a restaurant, hand in hand.

Her date would have liked to answer her if only he could breathe enough to do so. The running was no problem, but coupled with the fit of hysterics he seemed to be having, it was just impossible. Bent double with his hands on his knees at this point, he struggled to regain the composure that usually came so naturally to him. Of course when he glanced up at Parker and saw that she wasn't finding his lack of response at all funny, he felt a little bad, and sobered up faster.

"Oh, darlin', I'm sorry" he told her, righting himself, and throwing an arm around her shoulders as they continued walking, "I just... I can't believe that just happened" he chuckled, "Only you could turn a simple dinner date into some kind of con like that" he told her.

Parker might have been offended but it didn't feel like she was being laughed at or even scolded by Eliot. Tonight he hadn't once looked at her like she was an alien or told her there was something wrong with her. Not that she ever minded it that much, it was better than Hardison trying to tell her she _was_ normal when she knew she wasn't. He was trying to be nice, she did understand that, but Eliot was honest and that mattered a whole lot more to a girl like her.

"So, I didn't ruin our date?" she checked, still not really getting it apparently.

"No, Parker, you didn't ruin it" Eliot assured her, glad to see her smiling when he told her that.

Sometimes she was such a kid. Say the right thing and she'd beam like sunshine, the wrong one and she'd sulk like a baby who had their best toy taken away. Of course, despite that kind of behaviour, it was clearer now than ever that Parker was in fact all woman. The dress she wore showed off the figure she obviously had and that was only half the story, as Eliot was going to find out in the not too distant future.

"So, this is like it is in the movies, right?" she asked as they walked along, realising that his arm was still very much around her and yet not feeling the need to run as she so often had before when people touched her that way.

With Eliot, she wasn't trapped, in spite of the fact he was bigger and tougher than she was. She trusted him, as much as she trusted anybody. His arm around her was security; not a barrier that wouldn't let her escape but a safety net, kind of, that would catch her if she fell... and she just might in these dumb heels Sophie had convinced her she should wear tonight.

"What's like the movies?" Eliot asked her, just a little distracted by the warm body at his side and shining eyes that kept flashing his way under the lights that lined the street.

"Well, you have the date, the guy walks the girl home..." she recounted things she'd seen in various chick flick type movies in her life, "What's next?" she checked as they arrived outside the door of her building, as if planned that way, "A kiss goodnight?" she asked, with no evidence of a suggestive tone or anything.

It was a straight flat-out question, and that might've sounded weird to anyone else, but not to Eliot. He was getting used to the way Parker was now, the straightforward way in which she talked and acted most of the time. The more he learnt about her and the way she was, the more he found he liked it.

"That's usually how it works" he agreed with a nod, just a little thrown by the fact he was pretty much agreeing to kissing her right now.

This was Parker after all, and as much as he liked her, as hot as she looked tonight, it was a whole other ball-game if he actually kissed her. Apparently it was what she wanted him to do from the way she was looking at him, all expectant and everything.

"Goodnight, Eliot" she said simply, before leaning in a little and clearly expecting him to make up the rest of the space between them.

Eliot Spencer didn't need telling twice when it came to kissing a woman, especially not a woman that looked like Parker. He pulled her into his arms and his lips landed on hers in one smooth motion. Their arms wound around each other, neither willing to let this end too fast when it felt so good. Both Eliot and Parker were experienced in the physical side of romance at least, both expected the other to know what they were doing and were proven right in this very hot moment.

As with most situations though, it was Parker who was suddenly doing the unexpected and taking Eliot by surprise as she backed up towards the door. One arm left his body as she fumbled with the lock behind her and dragged him with her into the apartment block.

It was the momentum almost pulling him over on top of her that made Eliot jerk back to reality and realise what he was doing. If not for his fast reflexes and hers combined they might have both gone sprawling.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a little breathless from the kissing as she stepped out of his arms, gripping his hand still as she began to ascend the staircase leading up to her place - he followed in spite of the fact she hadn't answered him yet.

"This isn't how it's supposed to go?" asked Parker, shrugging her shoulders as she looked back at him, "People go on dates and don't have sex?" she asked with genuine confusion written on her features as they arrived outside her door.

Eliot swallowed hard, not quite sure what he was supposed to do here. Kissing Parker seemed like a weird thought, but when it happened it felt good, better than good actually. Now she was talking about them spending the night together, and it wasn't as if she wasn't tempting but honestly, for maybe the first time in a very long time, Eliot had actually gone on a date tonight _not_ expecting sex afterwards.

"Well, sometimes, people do that, yeah" he agreed, as she unlocked the door with a smile on her face that meant more than most people might imagine, "and sometimes it's... It's just not that simple, Parker" he tried to explain, losing focus since his mind kept wandering to what she was offering him here and what it all might mean.

"Okay, so I'll make it simple" she told him, flipping on the light inside her apartment, and just as fast sliding out of the dress she wore which pooled on the floor at her feet, "In or out?" she asked simply from just inside the doorway.

Eliot felt like he was losing his mind as his eyes raked over her body and his mind battled with itself. He couldn't do this, not with Parker, it would be wrong. She acted like such a kid sometimes, but she wasn't a child, not really. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go for it. He could respect that, he respected her, he liked her, and God knows in this moment he wanted her.

"I gotta be crazy" he said, already out of his jacket and working on his tie as he stepped in through the door and pulled Parker into his arms.

"Crazy's good" she giggled in the girliest way, kissing a path down his neck and making fast work of his shirt buttons for him.

"It is with you darlin'" Eliot told her, kicking the door closed behind them, and shutting out the rest of the world who would never understand them like they understood each other.

- The End -

**A/N2: So, how did I do with this continuation of my first Leverage fic? Reviews would be of the good! :-)**


End file.
